Interlink Scaffolding Equips New Mercedes-Benz Arocs With Unique Crane Body
A new eight-wheel, 32-tonne (35.3-U.S.-ton) Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3248 ENA equipped with an unusual demountable crane body is helping Interlink Scaffolding (ISL) of Birtley, Tyne and Wear, save time and curtail its labour costs. The firm engaged Swiss upfit specialist Notterkran to equip it with a tilting, sliding Multilift Ultima Z hooklift and a demountable split dropside body with integral stabilisers. Mounted on this is a remote-controlled 33.5-t per metre Hiab X-HiPro 362 EP5 crane that can lift 1,860 kilograms (4,100 pounds) at a distance of 15.1 metres (49.5 feet). ISL also has four 26-t (28.7-U.S.-t) Multilifts that work with demountable bodies.
“The demountable concept is ideal for our operation, but we realised that a crane would provide valuable extra flexibility,” says ISL Director Mark Eddy. “The Hiab will reach to the back of the drawbar trailer and allows us to lift a 1.5-tonne pack of scaffold tubes 16 metres in the air, so the lads don’t have to handball it all up. Not only does that save a lot of costly time and effort, but it also provides health and safety benefits.”
Happy Anniversary
The new Arocs is the flagship of ISL’s 16-truck fleet, and comes as ISL celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The scaffolding service provider undertakes housing, commercial building, civil engineering, and industrial projects across the North East region and serves the national rail infrastructure sector.
ISL’s Arocs is powered by a 12.8-litre, straight-six engine rated for 476 horsepower (350 kilowatts) and has a 12-speed PowerShift 3 automated manual transmission. Its ClassicSpace M-cab is equipped with a rest bunk and Mercedes-Benz’s MirrorCam technology, which replaces conventional side mirrors with external cameras. ISL also opted for an upgraded Multimedia Cockpit version with a larger, 12-inch instrument panel and extra functionality like satellite navigation. The truck’s single front-steer axle and lifting rear-steer axle are both uprated to 9.0 t (9.9 U.S. t) and are outfitted with super single tyres.
“A Big Advantage”
ISL drivers have access to a winch for lowering scaffolding over the sides of bridges or down wells, while a VBG drawbar coupling allows them to pull a tri-axle trailer. Eddy says going with an Arocs allowed ISL to acquire a truck built to an N3G, or off-road, specification, as its previous supplier could only provide it with an N3, or on-road, chassis. The firm trialled demonstrator for two weeks, during which it gained valuable feedback from its drivers.
“The guys quickly took to MirrorCam, but what really impressed them about the Arocs was its high ground clearance,” Eddy says. “We’re often on rough sites and up to our axles in mud, so that’s going to be a big advantage.”
Find Mercedes-Benz Trucks
You’ll find a big selection of new and used Mercedes-Benz trucks for sale on Truck Locator, including a large number of Arocs tractors and rigids.
Source: Mercedes-Benz